Agriculture and industry in the Middle East
From the characteristics of the climate and relief, it can be concluded that the bulk of the population in this area is concentrated in places suitable for irrigation. Owing to low rainfall in winter and lack of rainfall in summer, much of the Middle East has a short growing season and farming, especially in arid areas, is not the main occupation, which has a major impact on the geography of the population in the area. On non-irrigated land, the yield of wheat and barley depends on the amount of precipitation. Partial or complete crop failures occur here about once every five years.

Irrigated agriculture in the Middle East
Irrigated agriculture is a real source of prosperity in the Middle East, with the most favorable conditions for irrigated agriculture existing in the valleys of large rivers. Summer rains in Abyssinia and Central Africa cause annual floods of the Nile, which in turn leads to the enrichment of the delta soils. The main crops of Egypt are wheat, rice, sugar cane and cotton, which are harvested here in large quantities. On the Tigris and Euphrates in Iraq, or Mesopotamia , the "land of rivers" - unlike the Nile, floods occur as a result of heavy winter rains and spring snowmelt in the anatolia highlands. In lower Iraq, floodwaters spread across the vast marshy expanses between Basra and Amara and bring almost no benefit to irrigation. In middle and upper Iraq, the Tigris and Euphrates have high banks, so that in the summer to irrigate the surrounding areas, their water has to be raised by 3 and even 6 m.

From the time of Babylon to the twelfth century, the present territory of Iraq was crossed by a highly developed system of canals. However, the head structures of these canals were located far upstream from the irrigated areas and their maintenance required constant attention. Flying over Iraq, it is impossible not to pay attention to the remains of these canals with their elevated banks, formed as a result of the centuries-old cleaning of channels from silt. A very small number of ancient canals have survived to this day, but their role in modern Iraq is small. One of these canals is located on the Euphrates River. The canal originates at the Hindia Dam, built in 1912, and the newly constructed dam at Kut diverted some of the Tigris water into the side channel and from there into the canals. Currently, in Iraq and on the plains of Iraqi Khuzistan, pumping units are being created that use cheap oil as fuel, and huge old canal systems are being replaced by numerous small canals.

In lower Iraq, rice paddies are irrigated by a system of canals or are located at the edges of vast swamps, from where the water recedes only in late summer, when rice harvesting begins. From these fields, the Arabs receive high yields. Between Qurna and Faw, the shores of the Shatt al-Arab, formed by the confluence of the Tigris and Euphrates, are covered with vast groves of date palms, the fruits of which are world famous; date groves are irrigated by a system of small canals fed by the Shatt al-Arab. Sea tides have a great influence on the state of the river, causing a rise in water in it by 1.2 m. Since at high tide the banks of the river only slightly rise above the water level, the rise of water in the river twice a day gives palm trees their daily portion of moisture.

Iraq's irrigated gardens are dominated by date palms. In Baquba and Hanakin there are vast groves of oranges. In addition, grapes, apricot and other fruit trees are cultivated there. A small number of bananas are grown in Basra, as in winter they are protected from the cold winds by the surrounding groves of date palms.

The standard of living of the inhabitants of areas remote from permanent water sources is low. Natural conditions have led to a wide spread of a nomadic way of life among local tribes. In search of new pastures, nomads are forced to drive their herds — sheep, goats and camels — over long distances, while loading camels and donkeys with their felt tents made from the wool of black goats and other domestic goods. In Iraq and Iran, nomadic tribes of Kurds and Lurs spend the winter months on the low-lying plains and foothills, and with the onset of dry summers, as pastures dry up, they drive their herds to higher areas, where, thanks to moderate temperatures and later rainfall, pastures persist throughout the summer. The nomadic tribes of the Arabs also wander through large spaces in search of pastures for livestock, however, the cattle do not feel a significant difference between the valleys and the mountains, since the camel in the hump, and the sheep in the kurdyuk always have a supply of fat in case of lack of food.

The population of the deserts is extremely small, but there is no shortage of workers in the oil industry. The only drawback experienced by it is the lack of qualified and semi-skilled workers: employees, installers, turners, drivers, etc. The training of this category of workers is carried out by the oil companies themselves and requires a long time. The Anglo-Iranian Oil Company has a technical college and craft schools, and provides industrial training to workers to meet its skilled workforce needs.

Industry of the Middle East
Previously, before the discovery of oil, the only important occupation of the inhabitants of the Persian Gulf coast was pearl fishing. The best pearl shoals are found in the shallow waters of Treaty Oman east of the Qatar Peninsula. During the fishing season, single-masted Arabian sailing vessels come here from almost all settlements located on both shores of the bay. The main pearl market is in Bahrain. Pearls mined in the Persian Gulf are world famous, and in good times the cost of the annual catch reached 220 thousand pounds sterling. Fishing for shells is done manually, without any diving devices, except for the bow clip and heavy stone, and therefore the work of pearl catchers is extremely exhausting. There are many sharks in the waters of the Persian Gulf, but catchers fear them less than a sinister sawfish.

The mining and manufacturing industry in the Middle East is poorly developed. Kuwait City, which has grown as a commercial port serving the interior of Arabia, has shipyards for which teak is shipped from India. Sailing vessels built at these shipyards are used for trade and pearl fishing.

There is no mining or manufacturing industry in Iraq. Iran has tried in recent years to stimulate the development of local industry, with the result that there are now several sugar factories, paper-spinning and wool-spinning, a tobacco factory and a cement plant. All these enterprises, however, are so insignificant that Iran can in no way be considered an industrial country.

The standard of living in the Middle East is extremely low. Therefore, there is no significant market for petroleum products in any country in the area. Kerosene in the Middle East is in greater demand than gasoline. In most oil-producing areas, there were no means of communication before, so the oil companies themselves created a road network here. An exception is the Kirkuk field, served by the Iraqi railway network. The only roads built by the company are roads located on the territory of the field itself. During the war years, the local road network in the Middle East has improved, and there is no doubt that in the coming years the number of trucks and cars here will increase significantly.